Surplus land for sale in Marion County

Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 12:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 12:22 p.m.

Roughly 275 acres of state-owned recreation lands in Marion County could be sold because the property was no longer needed for conservation.

The Marion lands targeted for sale, according to a list released last week by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, include about 40 acres of the Indian Lake State Forest, about 234 acres of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, and a 2-acre piece of the Rainbow Springs State Park.

The 4,462-acre area state forest, located two miles north of Silver Springs, is a relatively new addition to the state recreation-lands system. It was designated as a state forest in 2009.

More commonly known as the Avatar property, it was once the proposed site for 11,000 homes. The property came under state control in 2007, when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, The Nature Conservancy and Marion County teamed up in a $76 million deal to buy the land.

The state has identified two parcels for potential sale there.

The 110-mile-long Cross Florida Greenway, the bulk of which sits in Marion County, is Florida's longest recreational trail. The local portion of the 80,000-acre trail loops across the eastern and southern parts of the county.

Eleven tracts along the trail made the state's list.

The state also added one parcel inside Rainbow Springs State Park, north of Dunnellon and home to one of the biggest springs in Florida.

Overall, the state has identified 169 parcels covering roughly 5,300 acres as expendable.

That list was vetted by a 25-member task force comprised of state officials, representatives of environmental groups and real estate brokers.

The Legislature established the review process earlier this year.

Lawmakers pledged $50 million for Florida Forever, the state's main land conservation program.

That money would be provided through the sale of surplus land deemed no longer necessary for preservation.

Legislators mandated that the first priority of the sales proceeds go to purchase land to preclude encroachment on military bases. After that would come acquisitions to protect springs and other water resources.

The parcels vary in size, with some sites as small as one-tenth of an acre, while the biggest spans 828 acres.

Marion County contains one of the larger ones: a 124-acre tract within the Cross Florida Greenway and south of Rainbow Springs State Park.

DEP spokesman Pat Gillespie said he did not know how the advisory panel chose each site for sale.

The committee weighed numerous broad factors, he said.

According to a DEP report, those included the individual parcel's role in connectivity with other public lands; its importance in preserving water resources, wetlands and protected animals; its significance for historic, cultural and recreational purposes; and its market value.

Gillespie said the list is not yet finalized.

The state will hold additional public hearings, including a set of regional meetings around the state slated for October.

Gillespie said those sessions had not been scheduled yet, so it was unclear if one would be held in Marion County.

The DEP's process will give state agencies, universities and colleges the first crack at leasing the properties.

If those agencies decline, the lands would then be offered to local governments, which can purchase them at appraised value.

After that, they are open for public bidding, with the governor and Cabinet approving the final sale.

A state report indicates that some members of the advisory panel questioned whether the Florida Forever goal could be met by offering so many small parcels.

Gillespie emphasized that environmental regulators were trying to strengthen the state's conservation program by offering lands that do not serve that purpose as well as other sites now outside the state's control.

"Ultimately, the goal is to trade up," he said.

Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@ocala.com.

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